Things to do in Kyrgyzstan
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Ala-Archa Canyon
This grand, rugged but very accessible gorge is a state nature park offering dozens of walking and trekking possibilities, including hikes to glaciers and, for the serious mountaineer, treks to the region's highest peak. There are basic shelters scattered throughout the park but the best way to enjoy the area is to bring your own tent and supplies.
You can use the Upper Ala-Archa Mountain Ski Base as a starting point from which to ski on glaciers, even in summer, though lifts only operate during the December to April winter season. Bishkek travel agents can arrange excursions to the canyon or you can make your own way there by car or by using the local buses. A small fee …
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Ecotour
Ecofriendly and flexible with budget demands. Stay in traditional yurts with solar-heated water, and small hydroelectric turbines at Temir Kanat, Ak-Sai, Tuura-Su, Kara-Talaa, Jeti-Öghuz and Bosteri for €20 per night (includes three meals and horse riding). Contact English-speaking Elmira or German-speaking Zamira.
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Central Silk Road
30 days (ex Ashgabat)
by Intrepid
Visit the wilds of Chong Kemin National Park, Kick back on the inland beaches of Issyk-kul Lake , Be amazed by the ferocity of Darvaza Gas Crater, Walk the live…Not LP reviewed
from USD$2,700 -
Lake Issyk-Kul
Lake Issyk-Kul is a huge dent, filled with water, folded between the 4000m (13123ft) peaks of the Küngey Alatau and the Terskey Alatau ranges. It sits 1600m (5250ft) above sea level and measures a huge 170km (105mi) long and 70km (43mi) across, making it the second-largest alpine lake in the world after Lake Titicaca in South America.
The main reason to come here is to soak up the lakeside ambience, enjoy the thermal springs and remaining spas, explore some of the best hiking trails in Central Asia (from the town of Karakol) and try your hand at catching the local trout - allegedly bulking up to a prized 35kg.
Mountain wildlife includes big cats, ibex, bear and wild boar…
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Silk Road to Samarkand via Kashgar
27 days (Beijing)
Trace the legend of the Silk Road from China to Uzbekistan.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$5,490 -
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Holy Trinity Cathedral
The yellow domes of this handsome cathedral have risen from the rubble of Bolshevism at the corner of Lenina and Gagarin. Karakol's first church services were held in a yurt on this site after the town was founded. A later stone church fell down in an earthquake in 1890 (its granite foundations are still visible). A fine wooden cathedral was completed in 1895 but the Bolsheviks destroyed its five onion-domes and turned it into a club in the 1930s. Serious reconstruction only began in 1961.
Services are again held here, since its formal reconsecration in 1991 and again in 1997. Listen for its chimes marking Sunday morning services (07:00 to 11:00).
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Animal Markets
This is no match for Kashgar's Sunday Market, but is still one of the best Animal Markets in Central Asia. Locals like to load their Lardas with livestock - quite a spectacle if the beast in question refuses to be pushed into the back seat. Fat-tailed sheep, worth their weight in shashlik, don't come cheap. Depending on its age, sex and size, a sheep can cost as much as US$120. Horses start at around US$300.
The market is divided into two compounds, one for sheep and goats; the other, for horses, cattle and the occasional camel.
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Osh
The standard refrain from anyone you ask is that 'Osh is older than Rome'. Legends credit all sorts of people with its founding, from King Solomon (Suleyman) to Alexander the Great. These days it's Kyrgyzstan's second-biggest city and the administrative centre of the huge, populous province that engulfs the Fergana valley on the Kyrgyzstan side.
It suffers a kind of demographic schizophrenia, being a major centre of Kyrgyzstan but with a strong (40%) Uzbek population more in tune with Uzbekistan and the rest of the Fergana valley.
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State Historical Museum
Sure, there are yurts, a mummy, carpets, embroidery and even open-air balbals (Turkic totemlike gravestones) in the State Historical Museum, but the highlight is the mural-cum-shrine to Lenin and the Revolution upstairs. Former US president Ronald Reagan is immortalised wearing a skull, astride a missile and grinning wildly. Nazi Germany is depicted as a rampaging bear while (surprise, surprise) Mother Russia as a beautiful woman clutching a white dove. English and lighting is minimal.
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Farhad National Restaurant
Join the celebrating locals in one of the 20 private rooms surrounding an open courtyard. Specialising in traditional Kyrgyz cuisine, mains are ordered by weight and 1kg of plov (around Som400) feeds six adults. The minimum order is 500g and orders need to be placed by mid afternoon to allow the chefs time to prepare (Munduz Travel can help). Order ysyryk (burning grass), take a deep breath and kick back on your topchan (tea bed). Recommended.
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Osh bazaar
The city has three daily farmers' markets, all fairly distant from the centre. Osh bazaar, 3km to the west on Chuy, though not very colourful, offers a glimpse of Kyrgyz and Uzbeks from the more conservative south of the republic. Produce is sold inside the main bazaar and all around the outside of the complex. There is a separate clothes market south of the main produce bazaar. To get there take trolleybus 14 on Chuy, bus 20 or 24 on Kiev, or 42 from Soviet.
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Jayma Bazaar
The thunderous daily Jayma Bazaar is one of Central Asia's best markets, teeming with Uzbeks, Kyrgyz and Tajiks dealing in everything from traditional hats and knives to pirated cassettes, horseshoes (forged at smithies in the bazaar), Chinese tea sets and abundant seasonal fruit and vegetables. It stretches for about 1km along the west side of the river, and crosses it in several places. It's most dynamic on Sunday morning, and almost deserted on Monday.
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Central Silk Road Reverse
31 days (ex Bishkek)
by Intrepid
Eat mutton dressed up as itself in a Bishkek restaurant, Visit the wilds of Chong Kemin National Park, Kick back on the inland beaches of Issyk-kul Lake , Pract…Not LP reviewed
from USD$2,460 -
Mountain Kingdoms Of Kyrgyzstan Reverse
16 days (ex Bishkek)
by Intrepid
Wander the wide streets of Bishkek, Camp by the serene shores of Issyk-Kul Lake, Soak up the charming atmosphere of Karakol, Go hiking in Djety Oguz Valley., St…Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,295 -
Silk Road Journey
26 days (ex Beijing)
by Intrepid
Admire mosques and mountains, Experience local culture at homestays, Marvel at the stone petroglyphs of Cholpon Ata, Witness the azure majesty of Lake Issyk-Kul…Not LP reviewed
from USD$4,355 -
Dungan
You'll find Dungan snacks such as ashlyanfu (meatless, cold, gelatine noodles in a vinegary sauce) in the Al-Tilek Bazaar for only a few som. It can be quite spicy so watch the red stuff. The best Dungan food is of course in Dungan homes, where a slap-up meal may have eight to 10 courses (Dungan weddings can have up to 30 courses). Yak Tours can arrange a good Dungan feast if you can get a group together.
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Ecotrek - Trekking Workers Association
Rents trekking equipment including sleeping bags (around Som100), 2-/3-person tents (around Som160), primus stoves (around Som40s) and sells gas canisters. The staff can also arrange guided treks (guides, cooks and porters) and guided horse treks in the surrounding valleys including a five-day trek from their yurt camp in the Valley of the Flowers, and Jeti-Öghuz to Altyn Arashan.
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Dom Babura
Local people call it Dom Babura, if you speak Russian, the friendly Uzbek caretaker will tell you more, and offer you a prayer for a few som. The steep 25-minute climb begins at a little gateway behind a futuristic silver dome on Kurmanjan Datka. The promontory offers long views but little to see except for a vast Muslim cemetery at the foot of the hill. Dusk is a good time to visit.
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WWII monument
Victory Square is a weedy plaza where an immense yurt-shaped WWII monument, erected on the 40th anniversary of the end of the war, sprawls across an entire city block. On cold evenings you might see a knot of young men passing the bottle and warming themselves at its eternal flame. On weekends it's the destination for an endless stream of wedding parties posing for photographs.
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Chinese Mosque
What looks for all the world like a Mongolian Buddhist temple on the corner of Bektenov and Jusup Abdrakhmanov is in fact a mosque, built without nails, completed in 1910 after three years' work by a Chinese architect and 20 Chinese artisans, for the local Dungan community. It was closed by the Bolsheviks from 1933 to 1943, but since then has again become a place of worship.
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Alp Tour Issyk Köl
This professional company offers a range of treks around Karakol and further field, including Kazakhstan and Khan Tengri base camp. They can arrange border permits in a day, supply guide/cooks, porters and climbing guides for Khan Tengri. The staff will also resupply your own long-distance treks and arrange daily transport on request to the Karakol ski base in winter.
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Xi'an To Kashgar
22 days (ex Xian)
by Intrepid
Travel to China and visit Kashgar's exotic old town, Camp beneath the stars in the Taklamakan Desert, Relax beside the pristine waters of Heavenly Lake, Follow …Not LP reviewed
from USD$1,675 -
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Philharmonia
Features Western and Kyrgyz orchestral works and the occasional Kyrgyz song-and-dance troupe, but you may need a local person to identify these from the playbills. In front of the Philharmonia is a statue of the legendary hero Manas slaying a dragon, flanked by his wife, Kanykey, and his old adviser, Bakayn. The kassa (ticket office) is on the west side.
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Regional Museum
Karakol's modest Regional Museum is in a sturdy colonial brick building, once the home of a wealthy landowner. It's of limited interest with exhibits on the petroglyphs around Issyk-Köl, a few Scythian bronze artefacts, a Soviet history of the Kyrgyz union with Russia, some Kyrgyz applied art, and photographs of old Karakol - all of it better with a guide.
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Dubovy Park
Dubovy Park, full of strollers on warm Sundays, has a few open-air cafés and some neglected modern sculpture and funnily enough, century-old oaks. Where Erkindik prospektisi (Freedom Ave) enters the park, there is an open-air art gallery. Nearby is the Erkindik (Freedom) Statue, formerly a statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, founder of the Soviet secret police.
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